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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29820600">Soulmates Are Jerks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogBoy0/pseuds/FrogBoy0'>FrogBoy0</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And Toph has no idea, Everyone Is Gay, Everything is the same execot theres soulmates, F/F, I wrote it because I thought it was funny, If you didnt catch that part, Its just boils down to circumstance, Katara is upset, Lee is Zuko, M/M, Soulmate AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:53:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,633</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29820600</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogBoy0/pseuds/FrogBoy0</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since she could remember, Katara had been fascinated with soulmates. Who was her's? How many did she have? Just one or more? What did they look like? Where did they live? How old were they? </p><p>Thousands of tiny questions littered her young mind since she was old enough to comprehend thought.</p><p>So from since she first learned to write when she was a little kid up until now at 14 years old, she wrote to her soulmate.</p><p>But the thing was…</p><p>They never wrote back. </p><p>No once, not ever, not a single time.<br/>________________________ </p><p>This is a Soulmate AU where everything you write on your body shows up on your Soulmate's body as well. </p><p>And a Katoph fic </p><p>So you know it's gonna be kinda frustrating.</p><p>(Also Sokka's soulmate is Aang and Zuko, I think the ship of the 3 of them is CUTE OKAY) </p><p>I hope you enjoy!!!!!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong/Katara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Disability AtLA</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soulmates Are Jerks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everyone had a soulmate, it was just the order of nature. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And no one knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> exactly it happened, it just kind of happened. Some speculated that it was the work of the spirits, or perhaps our atoms were next to theirs in the creation of the universe which led to a subatomic pull towards them like magnets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes people had multiple soulmates, it was fairly uncommon to have just one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But because of these specific bonds we have with these people who could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the world, whatever you write on your body appears on your soulmates', whether that be words, symbols or drawings. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no matter what. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just another thing that was as mysterious as soulmates itself. But it helped people find love and lifelong friendships so no one questioned it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>help people find love and friendships. However, they were in the middle of a war. A war that has been going on for nearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>100 years</span>
  </em>
  <span> and there was simply no time for relationships of any kind if it didn't involve something of basic survival. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>More so especially if you were born into a war torn village of 22 people square in the middle of the South Pole like Katara was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But having a friend to talk -or in this case, </span>
  <em>
    <span>write</span>
  </em>
  <span> to through it all would have been nice and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly</span>
  </em>
  <span> would have made her less lonely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ever since she could remember, Katara had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>fascinated</span>
  </em>
  <span> with soulmates. Who was her's? How many did she have? Just one or more? What did they look like? Where did they live? How old were they? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thousands of tiny questions littered her young mind since she was old enough to comprehend thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So from since she first learned to write when she was a little kid up until now at 14 years old, she wrote to her soulmate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the thing was…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They never wrote back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No once, not ever, not a single time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She never said anything rude and never asked any personal questions. The Waterbender had a laundry list of the vague, impersonal things she had written in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Hi!'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'How're you doing today?'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'My name is Katara and I guess we're soulmates'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But not once did they ever have the </span>
  <em>
    <span>decency</span>
  </em>
  <span> to answer back. Not with a greeting, or a word, or even a stupid drawing! And that is plain mean! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now she knows what you're probably thinking, '</span>
  <em>
    <span>Katara! Your soulmate can be dead! Dead people can't write, you've been writing on a dead person's arm the entire time!' </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And that's where you're wrong! After her first few fruitless attempts to contact her soulmate, Katara frustratingly vented to Gran Gran, complaining that perhaps they hated her or that they were, you know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But the thing is, what she writes on her arms, it vanishes on its own after a couple hours. If her soulmate really </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>dead, the ink wouldn't disappear, it would stay there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that meant that they were ignoring her. Her and her soulmate don't even know each other and yet they were already ignoring her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck them and fuck their pettiness and fuck whoever they are. Who are they to ignore Katara without properly knowing her first? Who are they to not even write </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything anywhere </span>
  </em>
  <span>on their bodies? Who are they to be such a </span>
  <em>
    <span>jerk?! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And it doesn't help that whenever she tells Sokka about it, he just brushes it off! Her brother doesn't care one </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit</span>
  </em>
  <span> about soulmates and it's frustrating and annoying and stupid and every other bad word in the book! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't see why you even wanna </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> to them, Katara," Sokka said once as they were eating, "If they didn't respond before, they aren't gonna now" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl had stopped, she had her parka sleeve rolled up as she wrote a series of words on her forearm with a brush, she squinted at him, "Because I want them to know that they're being an ass! I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> they're reading this," She huffed as she continued her writing, grumbling, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>They have to be..."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka's soulmate never wrote to him either. Katara had brought up countless times that maybe it was them? Their family or maybe even their entire tribe? Why wouldn't either of their soulmates write to them? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he never seemed to care. He believed it was stupid and found it useless to worry about, he had a tribe to protect after all. This confused Katara, why wouldn't he want to know? Her brother had always asked questions and always seemed hungry for knowledge, what made this any different? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But life went on as it usually did, her and Sokka do their chores, fish, come home, cook then sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until they met Aang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang, the boy in the iceberg. Aang, the last Airbender. Aang, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And whatever Aang wrote on himself showed up on Sokka's body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were soulmates. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Aang and Sokka</span>
  </em>
  <span> were </span>
  <em>
    <span>soulmates. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Well that explained why Sokka never had writing on his person up until then. But what about her? Was her soulmate trapped in ice somewhere underwater for who knows how long? No, that doesn't even make any sense. The only reason Aang was frozen was because of his Avatar State. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that means her soulmate is alive, conscious, actually ignoring her and more importantly...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still a huge dick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Sokka wasn't too happy with the idea of having a soulmate apparently, much to Katara's frustration. He should be happy he has a soulmate who's so nice, her's is an asshole!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it wasn't that Sokka didn't like Aang, he did. The two were nearly inseparable most of the time and the Waterbender could easily see them sharing a life together, maybe not right now since they are in the middle of a war but definitely in the future. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang wasn't like Sokka. He loved the idea of soulmates and loved that one of his new friends was one of his. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe they're just busy?" She remembered the Avatar suggesting once</span>
</p><p><span>"Maybe"</span> <span>She rested her chin on her hands </span></p><p>
  <span>Katara didn't believe that her mate was </span>
  <em>
    <span>just busy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There was no way. Not after all this time, it wasn't possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He always listened to her rant about her rotten soulmate. He said to have some hope, that maybe they'll find them on their travels and Katara can confront them. But she'll do more than just </span>
  <em>
    <span>confront </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, she'll stand up straight and </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>them look at her. She'll ask them </span>
  <em>
    <span>why. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Why be such an </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They never wrote, they never said hi, they never did </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Katara always went the extra mile, so why wouldn't they? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it doesn't help that while on their journey to the Northern Water Tribe, that crazy weirdo </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko</span>
  </em>
  <span> kept chasing them down as if things couldn't have gotten any more frustrating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(She could still hear the angry echoes of '</span>
  <em>
    <span>AVATAR!' </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bounce in her head)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>During their trip to their sister tribe, Katara scribbled a series of very passive aggressive notes to her mate, describing their adventures so far and what their plans were. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'We've just made it to Kyoshi Island, the people here are really nice but not that you asked' </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'The Earth Kingdom is huge! I'd talk about it more if you weren't ignoring me'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Maybe we'll find each other and we can have an actual conversation. That way you wouldn't have any way of tuning me out'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Aang was able to talk to Avatar Roku during the Winter Solstice, apparently we need to end this war before the summer ends or the Fire Nation is gonna take over the world. I'm really worried about it, too bad I can't talk to you about it because you're an ASSHOLE!!!' </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, maybe take out the </span>
  <em>
    <span>passive </span>
  </em>
  <span>in </span>
  <em>
    <span>passive aggressive</span>
  </em>
  <span> but she's angry and she refuses to hide her feelings towards the person who she is apparently supposed to be bonded to!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't right and it's not like Katara expects </span>
  <em>
    <span>constant communication 24/7, </span>
  </em>
  <span>just maybe a </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Hi! I'm okay and totally not ignoring you!'</span>
  </em>
  <span> And it doesn't help that Aang and Sokka are basically always writing stupid jokes to each other on long rides on Appa or while they explore a new town. She always sees them giggling and cackling in the quiet, in on a joke that she'll never understand. It's not their fault but it kinda makes her feel a little left out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After finally leaving the Northern Water Tribe, the newly mastered Waterbender started to combat this outcast-like feeling while also empowering herself by beginning to write on her arms again but this time, for herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her notes were for her and for her only. She had basically established that her soulmate is a dick and does not care at all for her so that means that they probably don't care what she's writing on themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara's arms became her own personal diary in a sense. She wrote whatever she felt whenever she felt. It felt liberating, writing to herself instead of someone else and not to mention therapeutic to just scribble down her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes she wrote about what a jerk Sokka was, or something funny that happened. It all disappears after a couple hours but she liked how it wasn't permanent, how she could write what she wanted without having to get rid of it herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara doubted that her mate had a problem with it, seeing as they never bothered to respond before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, if her soulmate really did have a problem with it, they could either wash it off or tell her to quit it. Either way she's annoying them back in the same way they've been annoying her for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>so she'll consider it a win. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then they began searching for an Earthbending master for Aang. They had made their stop at Gaoling, a fairly large town with a good chance of finding someone suitable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Master Yu's Earthbending Academy was a bust but after letting out some pent up rage on two students there, they headed for Earth Rumble 6. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night, they entered the stadium and room some seats a decent distance away from the front row in order to avoid any flying debris. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey Sokka, did you hear what Lee said?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, he's pretty funny, I gotta give him that" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh right, and did Katara forget to mention that not only does she have no idea who her jerk of a soulmate is, Aang and Sokka apparently have </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>soulmate? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He said his name was Lee and he first wrote to them a couple days after Avatar Day. He seemed pretty okay, a little snappy but okay. Or, that's what Sokka described him as. She wondered why Lee hadn't spoken before. Maybe he was shy? Maybe her stupid soulmate is shy too?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, that's dumb. Don't ask her how, but Katara just </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>they're not shy. That they're not talking to her for a reason and she has a feeling it's because they're just a motherfucker! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the Waterbender was happy for her brother and friend, she was happy that they were having a good time with each other and with whoever Lee was. That they were able to communicate and have fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'...But I guess it sucks having such a one way communication with a crappy soulmate like you compared to what my brother and his soulmates' have'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She wrote on her arm as the Earthbending tournament began. It felt nice to vent it out on her arm but she usually doesn't speak directly to her mate. Maybe if she insults them enough, they'll finally write just to defend themself?</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Now the moment you've all been waiting for… The Boulder versus your champion," </span>
  </em>
  <span>The host, Xin Fu announced to the roaring crowd after the Boulder flew through all his opponents in the previous rounds, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>THE BLIND BANDIT!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara's head whipped up at the blaring sound of the announcer and- oh.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That's</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Blind Bandit? The </span>
  <em>
    <span>champion? </span>
  </em>
  <span>The Waterbender watched as a tiny girl who couldn't be any older than herself raised the giant championship belt that probably weighed more than her high above her head before handing it over to two pretty women. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara could make out a faint scribbled line of ink on her right arm but because of the great distance, she couldn't read it. It's probably the girl's soulmate, maybe they wished her good luck on her match? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is everyone talking to their mates but her? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, does that mean her whole blind bandit thing is fake? She could read then, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She can't really be blind, it's just part of her character, right?" Katara asked, keeping her complete attention on the girl in the arena</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang shook his head, "I think she is" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well I think she's </span>
  <em>
    <span>GOING DOWN!" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Okay, very original Sokka. Of course he cheers for the big, beefy beef cake </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face, if she was blind then how did she read what her soulmate says? Does someone read it to her? Maybe it really </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>all just an act. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Waterbender leaned forward slightly, she didn't really like this whole Earth Rumble thing but at least now things are seeming to get interesting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And interesting was a perfect word to describe it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only did the Blind Bandit beat the Boulder in three seconds flat (holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit)</span>
  </em>
  <span> but after Aang offered to fight her and knocked her out of the ring and she left, he informed Katara and Sokka that that was the girl he was in his vision in the swamp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Very interesting indeed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day they had managed to wriggle out information from the two boys the other day, she could be a Beifong who was apparently the richest family in town. But they didn't have a daughter, that's weird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And maybe sneaking into the Beifong Estate wasn't the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea the three had had but it certainly wasn't the worst. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara thought as she, Sokka and Aang were launched into the air by the ground below them. They had landed in a few bushes inside the vast garden and as she tried to unscramble her head from the fall, she heard Aang and the Blind Bandit speaking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here, Twinkle Toes?" She heard her ask. She sounded upset, she must still be upset about her loss from last night</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl, who's name they overheard after rushing out the garden after the threat of guards, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Toph </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn't seem to show any interest in helping them out. She didn't care that if she didn't teach Aang Earthbending, the fate of the world was at stake. She didn't care how desperate they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was frustrating. Doesn't she understand that people will die? That Aang can't beat the Firelord without her? </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Me and my friends met a girl today. She doesn't wanna teach Aang even though this could decide if he beats the Firelord or not. She doesn't care a single bit. I think you and her would get along swimmingly'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't need to be so mean but spirits, she was angry okay?! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And besides, her anger didn't last long. Witnessing someone take on 8 fully grown Earthbenders at once and </span>
  <em>
    <span>win </span>
  </em>
  <span>can kinda change your mind on them quick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph was strong and a pretty decent person. She didn't want to go with their team at first because she felt obligated to her overbearing parents to stay with them, not the healthiest mindset but it was a valid reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What mattered was that Aang finally had an Earthbending master to learn from. And things were only going to get better from here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were going to get worse, so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>much worse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now Katara had gone back to that </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling of annoyance and frustration regarding Toph. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only were they getting literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>hunted down </span>
  </em>
  <span>by a crazy, metal </span>
  <em>
    <span>tank</span>
  </em>
  <span>, her and Toph had begun butting heads. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it wasn't her fault, it was Toph's! That dirty </span>
  <em>
    <span>'lone wolf, I carry my own weight'</span>
  </em>
  <span> Asshole had refused to help contribute </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to the group. She didn't help set up camp, she didn't help gather food or wood, she didn't do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They've been up all night and they're all </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhausted. </span>
  </em>
  <span>After the last time with the tank catching up to them, they had just decided to fly through the entire night in order to </span>
  <em>
    <span>truly</span>
  </em>
  <span> lose them for good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In order to distract herself from thinking about the girl in pink who she remembered took away her bending temporarily in Omashu, Katara began to rant on her arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'How can Toph be so annoying?! What's wrong with her?! I know I'm not in the wrong for wanting her to help! It's not my fault she's being lazy and stupid and irrational and an asshole!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It's frustrating! And she thinks I'm being the bad one?! This is so stupid! And now we're getting chased down and we're all tired and this could have been avoided if she had just helped in the first place!'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She had written much more, arguably </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>harsh things about her unwilling teammate well into the rest of the night and before any of them knew it- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no! The sun's coming up!" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sokka cried out as he watched the ball of fire millions of miles away rise, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>This is the worst thing ever!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Crap, they went a whole night without sleeping. Katara glanced back down at her left arm, it was completely covered in dark, inky words, reaching from her elbow all the way down to her wrist, even a couple words on the back of her hand as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh well, that wasn't the first time she's written on herself until her entire arm was practically a black void. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the least of her problems, she cursed to herself as she looked at Toph. She was leaning against Appa's saddle, arms folded tightly in on herself wearing a scowl. She wondered what she was thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she was festering like Katara was. Maybe she was thinking about all the other ways she could piss off the Waterbender more, or how she could hold up their travels again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no matter what, it couldn't be good. She exhaled sharply out her nose and went back to squeezing more rants into the scarce amount of free space on her left arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After another hour or two, Appa nearly killed them all on accident by falling asleep mid flight. They decided to just go with it and land, the sun had completely risen at that point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the bison landed on the inviting grass, Sokka was the first off, hugging his rolled sleeping sack and walking off to find a good spot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright, we put a lot of distance between us and them. The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep" He mumbled in between yawns </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Waterbender was the next to speak, still in a fowl mood, "Of course we could have gotten some sleep earlier if </span>
  <em>
    <span>Toph </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn't have such issues" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is all </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault they were tired, if she had helped, this whole thing could have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>avoided. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>WHAT?!" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toph shrieked, voice cracking as her large eyes bulged out of her sockets</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang rubbed his eyes, "Alright alright, everyone's exhausted. Let's just get some rest-" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Earthbender raised an arm and stood in front of him, "No, I wanna hear what Katara has to say," She spoke as she pointed a thumb to her chest, "You think I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>issues?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If Katara wasn't so utterly exhausted, she would have considered that maybe she had gone too far. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too bad she was spent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hasn't gone far enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm just saying. Maybe if you helped out earlier, we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep," She accused, taking a step forward, "And then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes felt so heavy and it was a struggle to stand up straight but she needed to do this. She needed to argue, she was angry, she was upset, and she was tired</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're blaming </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> for this?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In an instant Katara threw down her sleeping sack, raising her arms and gesturing for Toph to come and fight her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She's angry, she's upset, and she's tired. They could scream and argue, there was no need to get physical. They were gonna kill each other for the sake of killing each other and she found no quips about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph began to walk towards her but was halted as Aang leaped in between them, arms raised in defence, "No no! She's not blaming you!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I'm blaming her!" Katara growled </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph said nothing as she tossed Aang aside as if he weighed nothing more than a measly feather. The Waterbender watched as she stomped in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The 12 year old's fists were tightly clenched and her jaw was clasped into a disgusting frown. Her shoulders were an odd mix of tense yet also slumped, probably because of her being so angry yet drained. And her stupid left arm was covered in ink. Katara just couldn't wait to pummel her into the ground and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, her left arm was covered in ink? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara relaxed for half a second and squinted at the girl, analyzing her arm for a moment in the morning light with her drowsy vision. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'...And now we're getting chased down and we're all tired and this could have been avoided if…'</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her writing? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"You…" The 14 year old began in disbelief. But the shock didn't last long, something bubbled in her stomach, it clawed for escape. It was something disgusting and vile and </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry, </span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>You! You're </span>
  </em>
  <span>my soulmate!?" She snarled </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She heard Sokka and Aang's audible gasps from behind her. Toph looked to be taken aback by such a bold accusation. Katara took that time to close the distance between them and snatched Toph's left wrist a little too roughly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wrote this on </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>arm and it's on yours!" She showed off her own inky arm before the other's unseeing eyes, "After all this time, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>you!?" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph can't see. Toph can't read the words on her arm, on her own arm, on anything for that matter because she is blind. Katara spent all this time believing her soulmate was a jerk for ignoring her but in actuality she just never was able to see it in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was upset with… herself. How couldn't she have ever thought about that?! How could she have been so stupid to over look such a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>possibility? That </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>her soulmate wouldn't just ignore her without communicating a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was she really that thick? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph yanked her hand away from her as if she had been burnt, "So what?! Is that a problem?! Well fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I wasn't what you expected!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh crap, what Katara said could have been taken wrong. Did Toph think she was disappointed? Well She was but in herself, not at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the Waterbender wasn't so annoyed and high-strung at the moment, she would have tried to clear the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too bad she wasn't. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?! No, that's not what I'm saying! If you'd just listen to me for a second-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And what? So you can </span>
  <em>
    <span>blame</span>
  </em>
  <span> me some more about </span>
  <em>
    <span>camp</span>
  </em>
  <span> and then complain about something that I can't fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>control!?" </span>
  </em>
  <span>She interrupted her </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara bunched her fists, they had hardly known each other for more than a week at this point and Toph already knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>how to make her </span>
  <em>
    <span>fueming. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're an </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole! </span>
  </em>
  <span>You don't help and then you accuse me of being a fucking bigot?!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you not </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> hear yourself?!" Toph shook her head and began stomping off in the direction opposite the others. Without turning around, she shouted, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>And it's Appa! He's shedding and leaving a trail, that's how they're finding us! And fuck off, Katara!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And with that polite goodbye, Toph was gone. Katara's </span>
  <em>
    <span>soulmate </span>
  </em>
  <span>was gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What did she do? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>____________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara spoke over the blaring wind. The four were on Appa, soaring through the dark night sky. Toph was right, Appa's fur was leaving a trail and after she left, they cleaned him and Aang went to throw Azula and her friends off with a false trail. That left Katara and Sokka fending off Ty Lee and Mai and nearly losing if it wasn't for Appa to chuck them into the river. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three ended up teaming up with Zuko and his Uncle for some reason in that abandoned mining town against Azula. Don't ask her why, the reasons were incredibly unclear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara felt bad for Zuko, his uncle was shot with lightning. She knew that man was okay but that had to hurt and Zuko couldn't be okay either, at least mentally. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wanted to stay, to stay and heal, to stay and </span>
  <em>
    <span>help. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But they had to go, Zuko wouldn't have accepted her help. It reminded her of Toph but in a way more aggressive and frantic way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Toph had come back. She came back and aided them against the princess. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She came back. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maybe she didn't completely fuck up them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they mounted Appa, they had begun flying to find a safe spot to rest for a couple hours. It's night now and Katara could hardly make out the ground below them it's so dark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang and Sokka knew that she and Toph were in dire need of talking so both </span>
  <em>
    <span>subtly </span>
  </em>
  <span>(or as subtle as either of them could be) made up some half thought up excuse on why they </span>
  <em>
    <span>both </span>
  </em>
  <span>needed to sit on the bison's head in the front. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was silent as the Waterbender waited rather impatiently for a response. They were all still so tired but this conversation couldn't wait any longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't apologize, I was being a jerk" Toph's large, glazed eyes stared ahead, unfocused </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, you were," The 14 year old shrugged, attention turned to her own shoes, "But I was too" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well I'm sorry too," The Earthbender replied nonchalantly but Katara knew it was forced, that Toph was truly sorry and was probably tossing back and forth in her head with guilt, "I should've helped. I was… Wrong" </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> was her soulmate. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the jerk. The asshole. The motherfucker. The ignorer. The whatever else she had ever called her in her life. She finally had a face to put to her own inkless body. A face that was pale with a rounded nose and large, cloudy eyes. Eyes that couldn't see all the terrible things Katara wrote to her, that couldn't see Katara's personal thoughts, how she used their shared bodies as a journal in an act of empowerment and pettiness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn't regret the writing, should she? She's sure that Toph would have laughed if she knew, it sounds like something she would've done as well or at least enjoyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara checked her left arm, her words from before had vanished and that meant Toph's arm was clear as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What now? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Before, I didn't mean to say it like… </span>
  <em>
    <span>That…" </span>
  </em>
  <span>She truly didn't mean to imply that she was upset that Toph was her soulmate because she blind, she didn't think that at all</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She just felt like a complete idiot, letting herself get so carried away with her annoyance over no response from her mate that she didn't even consider </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>they might not have written in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The 12 year old unconsciously rubbed her left wrist, "I know. I was just angry. I didn't wanna listen" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After fighting for nearly a day and a half, they were both surprisingly docile. Maybe it was because they were tired. Or maybe the whole soulmate thing hasn't fully settled in their minds yet. Maybe it was both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you ever try to write to me?" Toph asked, voice filled with a half sort of broken pride as if completely embarrassed </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I uh… Yeah," Katara felt her cheeks begin to flush. How many times had she pictured- no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fantisited </span>
  </em>
  <span>about confronting her soulmate, about screaming in their face about what a </span>
  <em>
    <span>jerk </span>
  </em>
  <span>they've been. Well technically, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>do that but that was different, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>A lot" </span>
  </em>
  <span>She breathed out </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small chuckle escaped her mouth and she placed a palm on her forehead, thinking about it now made her feel stupid. It was only a wonder what Toph could be thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was so frustrated on why you wouldn't ever write me back, I didn't even consider you couldn't see it" She giggled, her warm cheeks helped wake her up</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph crossed her arms as a wide grin spread on her face, "And what? You kept writing? Is that what you wrote on your arm that showed up on mine today?" She then gasped, somehow her beam had gotten bigger, "Wait, don't tell me you were complaining to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> about </span>
  <em>
    <span>me!"  </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well not </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>per say. A while ago I just started using my arm as a diary, kinda like a screw you to my soulmate who never bothered to write back. Yeah, it was petty but come on, I thought you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>purposely</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignoring me this whole time!" She replied </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other cackled loudly, "Please tell me you remember what you wrote, I'd </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>to hear it!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two laughed to each other before it gradually died down, leaving them in a comfortable silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In all honesty, Katara wouldn't mind telling Toph all the rotten things she had written to her one day. It sounded like fun, as terrible as it was to admit. More so considering it seemed that Toph was as eager to listen to her as she was to share. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara compared her relationship with her soulmate with Sokka and Aang and even with their newest member, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lee. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Their constant communication, their jokes, their </span>
  <em>
    <span>warmth. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But her's never wrote, she believed she hated her for that reason. That her mate was obviously a huge jerk. But that wasn't the case, she couldn't write because well, she couldn't write. And that's it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her relationship with Toph will never be like Sokka or Aang or Lee's. They can't write to each other but that's okay. They can talk, they can share stories, scream at each other, talk about terribly embarrassing things. Katara and Toph can't be like them because they </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren't </span>
  </em>
  <span>them. They can have something of their </span>
  <em>
    <span>own.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That thought made her heart beat faster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden Toph stretched out her hand, "Hey, you wrote someone on yourself before right? Can I see the brush you used?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brush? What in the world would </span>
  <em>
    <span>Toph</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all people want with that? She figured it was better to not ask questions and instead dug through her bag and fished out her writing utensil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Handing it to the girl, the Waterbender raised an eyebrow, "Don't break it, you need the ink too?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Preferably" She nodded </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After gently dipping the tip of the brush in the tiny ink well, Toph lifted her left forearm. She held the brush incorrectly in her hand, The Waterbender watched with curious intensity as the girl…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… Began writing on herself?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, she couldn't call it </span>
  <em>
    <span>writing. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was more like scribbles of someone who had no idea what they were doing. Messy lines and meaningless, shakey shapes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara stared at her own arm now, seeing as those same exact lines appeared on herself. She always imagined the writing just appearing on yourself all at once but it wasn't like that. It was slow and gradual, every stroke, every brush, you could watch it happen in real time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that's how it looks but why? Why would Toph do this? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as if Toph read her mind, she spoke, "You waited this long for something from your soulmate and spirits know you're impatient so I might as well give you this," Toph shrugged, playing off her nervousness with obviously fake confidence. Her fingers were marked and black and the ink on her arm was already getting smudged, "I know it's not actual words but you know, since you always wanted this for </span>
  <em>
    <span>some reason" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>This was the first time anything from her soulmate showed up on her skin before. And as Katara stayed still, glances shifting from Toph back down to her arm then back at Toph again, watching both intently in the dark moonlight as if they might just up and vanish in thin air, she knew something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They don't need this, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>doesn't need this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They don't need to write to each other. They have their own relationship, one where it doesn't need to go off the basis of </span>
  <em>
    <span>writing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They're together, they can talk, they can touch, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>can. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph can't write, that's okay, it doesn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>matter.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Katara smiled and moved slightly closer to the other in the chill air, "Thanks but it's okay. I don't care about the writing, it was dumb anyway" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Writing's overrated" Toph admitted with a sigh of relief </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It kinda is" She chuckled </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They don't need to write for it to work. They can talk, they can listen, they can… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, can I…" Katara cleared her throat and her face grew hot again, "Can I hold your hand?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph blinked and she watched as her face turned a bright red but she turned her head away, she heard her blow air from her mouth as she shoved her hand to her, "Sure, it doesn't matter to me" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara nodded rather enthusiastically before grabbing her small hand, their fingers intertwining shyly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither spoke but the comfort was that they</span>
  <em>
    <span> could.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And that was it!!!! </p><p>The idea of the Soulmate AU just popped in my head and as I thought more about it, I realized how potentially funny it could be. I can definitely see Katara getting upset that her soulmate never wrote back, that she would be offended because she thought that they were ignoring her. Meanwhile Toph had no idea she was writing to her the entire time. I just think the entire circumstance is hilarious and I just had to write it </p><p>I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading!!!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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